Chevrolet Camaro COPO unveiled

The Chevrolet Camaro COPO will be made in limited numbers, 69, to be precise. The car is not for road use as it is Chevy’s stock drag race machine. The 69-car production limit for the 2012 COPO Camaro matches the number of ZL-1 COPO Camaros made in 1969. COPO stands for Central Office Production Order and was Chevrolet's special order system used by their dealers to build high performance models in the 1960s.

"The COPO Camaro is going to shake up the sportsman drag racing ranks this summer and give Chevy fans a great new reason to cheer on the Bowtie," said Jim Campbell, GM US vice president of Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. "COPO builds off the strengths that have made the Camaro the best-selling sports car in America. And while it was developed strictly for the drag strip, the COPO Camaro is infused with the same performance pedigree that every Camaro shares."

The COPO is designed to pass the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) racing specifications that include a solid axle and a full chrome Moly roll-cage. Evidently, most of the standard sound and power accessories have been excluded in order to decrease its weight for racing. Also included is a pair of racing bucket seats, a safety harness for the driver, a competition floor shifter and Chevrolet Performance gauges. One of the engines on offer, a 5,300cc, 4.0-litre supercharger just happens to be the fastest Camaro Chevrolet have built to this day. 

Chevrolet will offer three engines on the Camaro COPO especially developed to compete in the top classes in NHRA's various Stock Eliminator and Super Stock ranks, an LS7-based naturally aspirated 427 (7.0-litre) V8, a supercharged, LSX-based 327 (5.3-litre) V8 featuring a 2.9-litre supercharger, and a supercharged, LSX-based 327 (5.3-litre) V8 featuring a 4.0-litre supercharger.

A special collector's package offers the purchase of all three engines with the COPO Camaro, including one installed in the car at delivery with each engine’s serial number matched to the car.

We like the idea and love the car. But with its specific use, practicality becomes an issue to debate.

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